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(Just a note for anyone wondering: my “procedure” today went just fine. Instead of giving you the grisly details, I’ll just refer you back to Dave Barry’s column – he’s right on the money!!!) 
We moved to Ocean Springs when Hillary was one year old. On our first Sunday here as the “preacher’s family,” Jody and Robin met in the nursery, so I’m suspecting Connor and Hillary met then, too. They have been best friends ever since.
Connor and Hillary – well, around these parts the words even go together. They are both about to turn 11 years old, and both will head off to middle school in a few short weeks. They are a boy and a girl, yes, but even though they are now at that age when some of their friends have started pairing up, they haven’t. They are simply best friends, and have been as long as they can remember.
Of the many things on our “Things To Feel Guilty About” list regarding our move, separating these two probably ranks right at the top. They bought each other a WebCam for their 11th birthday (ideas of their mothers), so hopefully the miles won’t stop their friendship at all.
We move six weeks from tomorrow, but today we traveled to the Biloxi Natatorium for a final combined birthday party. Storms in the area almost put a damper on this last special party, but God smiled down on Hillary’s prayer and allowed them their pool party after all. And I’m glad.
There are certain friends that will always be special no matter what happens. Of the several I have had over the years, Jamey McFadden has remained my standard bearer for “best friend.” For Hillary, it will always be Connor. And as special friends go, she has a very good one.
This weekend I plan to reenact a Dave Barry column. Specifically, THIS ONE. (And no, I’m not over 50. Yet.)
Check out this LINK sent to me from my good friend, Tom.
I’m especially liking the part that paparazzi are going to be hanging around my daughter’s new school.
One would think that a person who decides to move his family 2,000 miles away, incur significant debt, and change the entire direction of his professional life would have a pretty good idea where he’s headed with it all. In my case, one would be wrong.
Not to say there hasn’t been significant thought devoted to “the big move.” Oh, has there been significant thought devoted. And not to say that I have ever wavered in regard to our decisions. From that special moment when Jody and I came to the simultaneous conclusion that law school was the path to travel to that equally special moment when we determined that the School of Law at Pepperdine University was THE place for us, I have felt confident that we were pursuing something good.
It’s exactly what I’m pursuing that has been the least bit elusive.
I have been confident for quite some time that I am going to Pepperdine because I am destined for a career in peacemaking. Pepperdine is the national leader in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (specializing in words like mediation, arbitration, and negotiation). I feel certain that this is my future.
But what form will that take? Mediating what?
I have explored many, many options, ranging from divorce and family to labor and employment law, from international peacemaking to intellectual property. And I’m still not sure. Yet, for once in this little journey, I’m feeling as if I might have a leaning, and that leaning is international law. Settling disputes – primarily, business – across national borders.
I have absolutely no international experience, and I speak no foreign languages. Nor do I have much business experience. In reality, this may not be the smartest goal for me to pursue. And yet, it maintains my interest, and I’m going to see where it leads.
Pepperdine’s School of Law has a good reputation in the field of international law, and sitting on the outskirts of Los Angeles, I will live in close proximity to the top firms in the world in this field. The possibilities are intriguing.
One of the unique opportunities offered at Pepperdine is an international study tour. Currently, there are two two-week tours offered by the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution (which you can read about HERE): one to Beijing and Hong Kong, and the other to London and Geneva. Both sound simply fascinating.
I think love is the most important word in the world. Within that word, two other words are in many ways the guiding principles of my life: peace, and justice. Put another way, breaking down all the walls that divide us so that we may live together in harmony.
I’m fairly sure what intrigues me about international law is the attempt to go for broke in breaking down the biggest walls around.
It’s late, and I’m too tired to write much. But I just came back from Gulf Coast Bible Camp where I baptized my daughter, Hillary.
Very, very cool.
I’ve had the privilege of baptizing both my sweet daughters now. I’m a lucky man.
As my friend, Alison, remarked this morning, my family has experience in getting rid of all our stuff, only this time we are doing it voluntarily!
We move to California nine weeks from yesterday. From a spacious four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath house to a tiny two-bedroom, one bath apartment. We can’t wait.
We decided this weekend to move out of our house on July 5th (four weeks from this coming Saturday) whether it is sold or not, and so the unloading of our personal possessions has now officially begun. We have a huge moving sale scheduled for a week from this Saturday, but to kickstart things a bit (and hopefully make that day a bunch easier), I sent an email out to a few hundred of my closest friends in this area in sort of a pre-sale move. Of the 44 items listed, 21 are already sold by early afternoon.
Selling out is sort of fun, in a warped way. A heck of a lot more fun if you are choosing to do it on your own. Maybe that’s what baptism is all about? (Sheesh, I’m so Church of Christ I can hardly believe it.)
Anyway, since selling out is so much fun, does anyone out there want to buy a house??? Please???
